A new advertisement that supports Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan and a former Detroit health director, is yet “another example of scapegoating the Jewish state,” according to Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
“You want to know what desperate looks like?” Greenblatt stated. “Blaming the price of bananas on the Jewish state.” He added that “at least we can thank them for a case study in antisemitism.”
The ad, which Rebellion PAC released, says that American families can’t afford groceries because their tax dollars fund Israel’s military and healthcare.
A woman shopping with a man for their children’s lunches tells him he has to put the eggs and bananas back.
“They don’t like eggs anymore?” he asks.
“No, they like eggs, but we have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians,” she tells him. “Apparently, it’s costing us a lot of money to drop bombs on Gaza.”
“Don’t they get universal healthcare, too?” he asks.
“Yeah, they do,” she responds. “We’re paying for that too, probably.”
“Might as well put the bananas back,” he says.
The ad has a disclaimer that it wasn’t authorized by a candidate.
Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, senior envoy for Europe at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, called it “one of the most antisemitic things I’ve ever seen in a political ad.”
“The message: your life is hard, groceries are expensive and the Jewish state is why,” she said. “Total madness.”
Brianna Wu, a longtime progressive activist and former congressional candidate who is vocally pro-Israel, stated that she had no role in producing the ad. She co-founded Rebellion PAC and was its former executive director.
“I’ve not worked with Rebellion for years,” she stated. “I would have quit as executive director rather than produce this.”
“I’m not Jewish, but one of the experiences I’ve shared with Jews is trying to reconcile people I dearly love and care about having horrific views on Israel,” she said. “I don’t have any answers. I find this message as awful as you do.”
